Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Andrea León-Grossmann
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Maritza Mendoza
Empower DC
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Moisés Moreno-Rivera
Trust for Public Land
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Olga Morales
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Angela Guyadeen
NRDC
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Roland Jones
CIS
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Alastair Bitsóí
Near the Water Media & Communications Group
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Guadalupe Fernandez
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Aria Harris
TYLin
Olga Cano
HUD
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Talia London
The Common Acre
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Berhanu Sinshaw
University of California Merced
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Shama Perveen
Ceres
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Ayako Tischler
Xylem
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Alai Reyes-Santos
Alaí Community Consulting
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Walt Walker
TYLin
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Jasmine Walker
Ohio Environmental Council
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Newsha Ajami
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Hayat Rasul
LA County
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Direlle Calica
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Nieves Vazquez
Water For People
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Portia Shepherd
Blackbelt Women Rising
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Heather Tanana
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
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About Us
The Color of Water Initiative was created by the Water Hub to build voice and visibility for people of color in the water movement. Our goal is to connect reporters with a more diverse set of experts, and build capacity for these experts to elevate the stories of their communities, which have often been left out of conversations around water.
From water access and drought response in the West to lead pipes and PFAS pollution in the Great Lakes to recurring flooding and water infrastructure failures in the South, Color of Water members have deep expertise and first-hand experience on water challenges and solutions all across the country.
Read the joint statement by Color of Water members on the importance of equity in the water world.
experts across the country
Register to Join our Expert Directory
If you identify as a person of color with expertise in water (including lived experience or ancestral knowledge) or work in fields that intersect with water (like health, farming, housing, planning, etc.) please submit your information to us!
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What are Color of Water members talking about?

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National